Big and small
Physics of the Mundane
Adam Johnston
Your task today is simple: Measure the biggest and smallest thing you can 1.) find and B.) measure effectively with the equipment and personnel on hand.
You have at your disposal:
 | A meter stick (as the name implies, it’s 1.00 meter long) |
| A protractor (to measure angles) |
| A stopwatch |
| A variety of balls (marbles, ball bearings, tennis balls, etc.) |
| A lab buddy |
| Anything else you can find |
As you attempt to measure the “biggest” and “smallest” things possible, remember that you might be able to measure some things indirectly. (For example, although you can’t weigh Mt. Ogden on a scale, you may have some other method of figuring out its bulk.) Also, think about what you mean by “big” and “small”. In other words, exactly what is it that you will be measuring?
In your lab notebook, document what object/thing you are measuring, how you measure the object/thing, and what result you get. How confident are you of this measurement? What limitations are there in your measurement? What kept you from measuring something bigger or smaller?